By Jonathan Allen, CQ Staff

The president’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, has invited a coalition of moderate House Republicans to a White House meeting Tuesday as part of the administration’s push to add bipartisan flavor to the economic stimulus legislation making its way through Congress.

The small confab with members of the Tuesday Group is scheduled to take place after President Obama and Emanuel meet with Republican and Democratic caucuses on Capitol Hill earlier in the day. It will be something of a continuation of the bipartisan dinners Emanuel hosted while a member of the House Democratic leadership.

It is not clear whether the stimulus legislation (HR 1) will be the focus of the meeting, one of many subjects or the $800-billion-plus elephant in the room.

Rep. Tom Petri , R-Wis., said Emanuel’s invitation sets a tone reminiscent of some previous administrations. “That hasn’t been done as much in the most recent Bush administration,” he said.

Petri is among the Republicans who have yet to say how they will vote on a stimulus package including $550 billion for education, infrastructure improvements, health insurance, unemployment benefits and other administration priorities, as well as $275 billion in tax cuts.

“I’m trying to get a better sense of how this all fits into the greater scheme of things,” said Petri, who would like more money for infrastructure and a better explanation of how the package fits with the $700 billion financial industry rescue program (PL 110-343) and other items on the agenda. “I’m still basically looking at it.”

Although Emanuel’s tough-guy theatrics and spicy speech have earned him a reputation as a relentless partisan, he quietly cultivated working relationships with Republicans during three terms as a representative from Chicago. Since being tapped as Obama’s aide-de-camp, he has shared his private contact information with both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.